Auxiliary paper-guide for type-writing machines.



' `'EIIT'EIITED MAY 31,1904.

" NQ. 761,306.V

*Y T. I.. .'KNAEE. AUXILIAEY PAPE-E GUIDE IoE TYPE WRITING MACHINES.

ALPRL'O'ATION FILED NOV. 2,- 1903.

'En MODEL.

n PETERS CQJMOTOAJWOIWASMMUTON D c um v Patented May 31, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

l THERON L. KNAPP, OF VVOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE OLIVER TYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

AUXILIARYu PAPER-GUIDE Fon TYPE-WRITING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,306, dated May 31, 1904. .Application filled November 2, 1903. Serial -No.179,477. (No model.)

T a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, THEEON L. KNArr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Woodstock, in the lcounty of McHenry and State of Illinois, have invented certain new andy useful Improvements in Auxiliary Paper-Guides for Type-Writing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to v1 O the accompanying drawingsand to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. y

This invention relates to paper-guides for type-writing machines, and more especially 1.5 to an auxiliary guidev for use in connection With the platen of visible-writing machines,

or those in which the paper fat the printingpoint is exposed to the eye of the operator,

and which is additional or supplemental to the zo end guides of the platen, or those by which the side margins of, the paper are held or guided in the passage of the paper around the platen.

The invention consistsin the matters herel 4 25 inafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In `the accompanying drawings, which illusv t is a detail section-taken on line 4 4 of Flg. l, showing a changed position of the paper-guide. Fig. 5 is a plan view, 4on a large scale, of the supporting-bar on which the auxiliary guide is supported. Fig. 6 is a detail cross-section of the same, taken upon line 6 6 of Fig. 5. p

As shownin said drawings, A indicates the platen or printing-cylinder of the type-writer, and B B the end plates of the paper-carriage, in which the said platen -is mounted.

` O C' O2 indicate three pressure or guide rollers by which the paper is held against the -platenin its vmovement from beneath the platen upward and forwardly to the top of the same or Vthe point where the printing takes place. V v

D indicates a scale-bar which extends longitudinally of the platen along the printing-line and which'- is supported at its ends on the carriage enolv plates B B.

E indicates a horizontal supporting-bar which extends between and connects the end platesB B' and which is located at the rear of the platen or the side of the same toward .which the paper travelsiduring the printing operation. y

The paper-carriagev shown in the drawings is provided with oblique paper-guides F F of the kind heretofore used on the Oliver typewriter, said guides being mounted on the ends of the supporting-bar E and terminating at their outer ends in single guide-fingers F F', which extend transversely of the platen and bear at their free ends upon the scale-bar D. Said guides F F are supported by meansof loops f f, which encircle the supporting-rod E, as in the Oliver type-writer as heretofore constructed. v

Now referring to the parts more directlyrelatingto my invention, G is a guide-rod which .is arranged parallel with the platen A and which extends longitudinally of said platen 4at the rear of the printing-line, said guiderod being located above the top surface of the platen between the point at which the printing takes place and the supporting-bar E, beneath which latter the paper passes as it moves rearwardly from the 'printing-point.

, Said rod G is attached to an arm Gr', which is supported-onthe bar E by means of a pivot H, affording a hinged connection between the said arm and the supporting-bar E, by which .the free end ofv said arm G and the guidevrod Gr, are adapted to swing up Wardly and rearwardly from the platen. In connection with the arm G, thus pivoted to the supportingrod Ga spring I is applied between the parts and actson the guide-rod G so as to throw the same downwardly and forwardly toward the surface of the platen. Provision is also made for limiting the downward movement of the arm G under the action of said spring, so that the said guide-rod will be held normally a short distance above or away from the surface of the platen.

Referring now more particularly to the details of construction in the parts illustrated, the pivot-pin H, which forms the hinged connection between the-arm G and the bar E, is located at the rear of said bar E, being supported in rearwardly extending lugs e e, formed on said bar. The arm G is arranged to extend over the upper surface of said bar.

E and has laterally-extending lugs g g, which project inside of the lugs e e and through which the pivot H passes. Said arm G' is, moreover, adapted to rest against the top surface of the bar E when the parts are in operative position, the contact'of the said arm with the bar serving to limit the downward movement of the guide-rod G. Said arm G is, moreover, provided with a lever G2, which rises from its rear margin and. to which the linger may be applied for throwing the guidebar upwardly and rearwardly against the aetion of the spring I. Said spring I is herein shown as having the form of a coiled spring which encircles the pivot H and which bears at one end against the lower surface of the bar E and at its opposite end against the arm G', acting onthe latter arm in a direction to throw the same downwardly and forwardly toward the platen. In the particular construetion of the parts shown the arm G, with its lugs g g and finger-lever G2, are shown as made of asinglepieee of sheet metal so formed that in the normal position of the parts said arm G will extend horizontally over the bar E to the front face of the supporting-bar E and downwardly over said front face of said bar, the finger-lever G2 being bent upwardly or at` right angles to the main part of the arm G.

The guide-rod Gis intended to supplement the action of the paper-guides by which the side edges of the paper are guided in the passage of the sheets around the platen. When used in connection with the oblique guides F F, having the guide-fingers F F', like those of the Oliver type-writer, such guide-rod will operate to supplement the action of said guides and guide-fingers; but it may be used to perform the same function in connection with other forms of margin-guides. Said guiderod when in its normal position adjacent to the top surface of the platen serves to hold the middle part of the sheet in contact with the platen at the printing-point in cases when the sheet being printed on is so wide and the margin-guides are so far apart that the paper has a tendency to buckle up or rise at the center. While such an auxiliary guide-rod G may be useful when employed upon a typewriter carriage of ordinary length, yet the device described is more particularly designed for use with very long platens or with the platens made long enough to take paper wider than ordinary letter-paper and such as are used for special purposes, as in railway and insurance offices.

rlhe provision of means for lifting the guiderod G or throwing it away from the platen is of considerable importance and greatly facilitates theinsertion of the paper' in the machine preparatory to printing. As will be readily understood by those accustomed to the operation of type-writers, when the paper is inserted in the machine and carried around the platen by the turning of the same the side edges of the paper will be confined closely against the platen by the guide-lingers F F; but the advance edge of the paper at its middle part is liable to be curved upwardly away from the platen, and such upwardly-curved advance edge of the paper could not be carried or inserted beneath the guide-rod f/ except by carefully guiding it by the lingers. By lifting said guide-rod G or throwing it away from the platen as the advance edge of the paper approaches the same the said advance edge of the paper will pass beneath the guide-rod, notwithstanding that it may stand some distance outwardly or away from the surface of the platen, and after the said advance edge of the paper has moved rearward ly past the guide-rod the latter may then be loweredor returned to its normal position, when it will hold the central part of the paper closely to the platen or guide said paper in such manner that it will bend smoothly and evenly over or in contact with the platen at the printing-point.

When theI paper-carriage is provided with oblique guides,such as indicated byF F in Figs. l and 2, these guides perform the same function as the guide-rod in holding the paper downwardly against the platen and will operate to perfectly guide the paper, so far as their influence extends. lt is manifest, however, that when the platen is of considerable length the guide-rod. G, which may extend along the principal part of the distance between the said oblique guides F F, will act to hold the center of the paper close to the platen in the same way that the end portions thereof are held down or guided by said oblique guides F F, while by reason of the fact that said lguide-rod G is capable of movement away from the platen the paper may be readily inserted beneath the same by the lifting thereof, so that the liability is obviated of the advance edge of the sheet of paper striking the said guide-rod or striking the supporting-rod E as the advanced edges of the sheet move rearwardly over and away from the platen.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with the paper-carriage of a visible-writing type-writer provided with a platen, a supporting-bar arranged parallel with the platen at the4 rearv of the printingpoint, and guides for the margins of the paper which are mounted on and extend forwardlv from said supportingbar, of an auxiliary guide consisting of a supporting-arm which is pivoted to and projects forwardly'from the said supporting-bar and a guide-rod attached to the front end of the supporting-arm and extending longitudinally of the ycentral part of the platen, a spring applied to yieldingly hold the said guide-rod adjacent to the platen, and means for limiting the movement ofthe said arm toward the platen under the action ofthe spring adapted to hold the guide-rod out of contact with the platen; said'supporting-arm being provided with a linger-piece.

2.. The combination with a 'carriage-frame, provided with a platen and a supporting-bar arranged parallel with the platen, said supporting-bar having laterally-projecting lugs which project rearwardly therefrom, of a guide-rod arranged parallel with `the platen,

an arm which carries said guide-rod and which is pivoted to said lugs and a spring applied between the said supporting-bar and the'arm and which tends to hold the guide-rod adjacent to the platen; said arm extending over the top or' the supporting-bar andbeing adapted for contact with the same to limit the movement of theguide-rod toward the platen under the action of said spring.

3. The combination with a carriage-frame provided with a platen and a supporting-bar arranged parallel with the platen, and provided with laterally-projecting lugs, a guide-rod arranged parallel with the platen, a supportingarm attached to said guide-rod provided with laterallyprojecting lugs, apivot-rod extended through the lugs on the supporting-bar and the lugs on said arm, and a coiled spring apporting-bar and the arm and tending to throw the guide-rod toward the platen, said arm being extended `from the guide-bar rearwardly over the supporting-bar, and having a lingerpiece located at the rear ofthe pivotal axisA thereof, so that rearward and downward pressure on said ng'er-piece will lift the guiderod from the platen.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aiix my signature, in-presence of twov witnesses, this 19th day of October, A. D. 1903.

THERON L. KNAPP.

Witnesses:

EMIL ARNOLD, STEPHEN HORR. 

